“Unless you remain politically connected to TOP management, you will be "released" through their semi-annual cut backs. ”

Comp & Benefits

Work/Life Balance

Senior Management

Career Opportunities

Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

I have been working at IBM

Pros

Their perceived reputation in the Global Market.

Cons

Keep your NETWORK and resume up-to-date. You will be blind-sided when you least expect it. Mine came after 3 months of 80 hour conversion weeks.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Focus on QUALITY, not the bottom line. Look at supporting your originating country and those employees who have stuck by you. Measure by quality, not political connections. Management by "mind control" will not last forever.

- Looks fantastic on a resume.- Pay is sufficient for survival.- Benefits outside of salary are decent. I appreciate the health, vision, and dental plans and the fact that they match up to a certain percentage that you pay into your own 401(k).

Cons

- Overtime is expected. Constantly. We are told, "It all evens out eventually," but no amount of comp time makes up for the amount of hours I work. I'm pretty sure now that they don't care if we burn out within a few years; there's always someone cheaper who will take our place, in their minds. I haven't worked <60-hour week for the past two years...and I've only been here for three.- I'm definitely not getting paid enough to work the hours that I do.- Management at the highest levels are absolutely not aware of the demands being placed on those actually doing the work that they require. Because someone at the top said, "jump," everybody asks, "How high?" for fear of making the wrong person angry.- On the same note, requirements for projects grow, while company resources go down. There simply aren't enough people to complete the work that we have piled upon us in any sort of satisfactory way. We were told earlier this year that we should figure out ways to "do less with less"...so why aren't we actually doing less?- There is too much of a focus on quantity and not quality. Why aren't we selling as much? Because the work we do is shoddy at best. Because of the insane requirements heaped upon us at the beginning of a release, designs aren't thought through, and subpar products are released as a result.- Those that speak loudest get the most rewards, even if their ideas go nowhere. I've seen people advance to the highest pay and responsibility band despite having little to nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, the employees that actually provide value are left behind. Eventually, they leave, while the loudest speakers remain and continue to drive the company further into the ground.- I feel as though I was sold a lie when I signed on to the company. I was told that I could do anything I want; that I can create a career here; that the sky is the only limit. However, despite expressing a desire to seek other avenues or more creative ways of doing my job, I am pigeonholed into the same position repeatedly, with more responsibility for my current position being piled on. There is no time to develop other skills, and what used to be a skill quickly becomes stagnant. I absolutely do not feel free to pursue other paths, because I am constantly told, "You are needed more here. If you don't like it, you can leave."- Too much of a focus on being physically present. If I want to work from home, I should have that option, particularly when I have demonstrated that I can be trusted to actually produce good results while still working from home. The "back to the lab" initiative makes no sense - to be told that we must be present to be remembered makes absolutely no sense when most of the development teams are scattered all over the world. Most of my team isn't local, but they still know me and trust me. But apparently a few rotten apples that have abused the system while producing terrible work have ruined it for everyone. Because they worked from home too often, everyone else has to suffer.- On the same note, zero work-life balance. They've stopped calling it that now - it's now "work-life integration." To me, that just says, "We expect you to work more than we want you to have a life outside of the company."

Advice to ManagementAdvice

The answer to our problems is not to shove more and more features into our product. Do you remember when we used to be associated with quality? Not a week goes by that I don't hear from an important, dissatisfied customer that is on the verge of dumping us for a competitor.

Stop focusing on quantity. Focus on quality. Quality is what sells. Quality is what keeps people coming back. Quality brings us money. So why aren't you focused on quality anymore?

The only thing that counts is stock growth, by ANY means necessary. Treating employees like parts is going to hurt them.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

To the Execs...don't be so greedy. You could clothe, house, & feed a small nation with what you make. Without the people "beneath" you holding you up, you'd be nobody, so be a little more generous with them so they can be generous to their communities.